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Domestic passenger car market, exports and production still climbing

Berlin, 02 April 2014

March new registrations up by 5 per cent

In March 2014, new registrations of passenger cars in Germany rose by 5 per cent to 296,400 units, continuing the expected stabilisation. In the first quarter the figures increased by 6 per cent to 711,700 vehicles. Matthias Wissmann, President of the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA), stressed, “The welcome development on the German market consolidated in March, and the first quarter has brought decent results. Export business has also continued to expand.” Domestic orders increased by a slender 2 per cent in March, steadily continuing the positive trend from the beginning of the year.

Foreign demand for German passenger cars remained keen in March, with exports climbing 7 per cent to 394,700 vehicles. This has resulted in 10 per cent growth for the year to date. Incoming orders from abroad showed a year-on-year rise of 8 per cent last month. Wissmann underlined, “Obviously the mood among EU consumers is still brightening up, which boosts purchases of new cars. This development has been apparent since the end of last year – the European automotive market is on the slow path of recovery.”

Domestic production by the German vehicle manufacturers also continued its gains in March, turning in growth of 10 per cent to reach 519,700 passenger cars. Over the first quarter the increase in production came to 11 per cent. “This shows that the attractive new models from German OEMs are in demand the world over,” Wissmann said.